FIBA CreditsSecond victory for theItaly at Eurobasket 2025. Against the Bosnia, the Azzurri find a performing attack and a Simone Fontecchio sets a recordHis 39 points are his new career high and the most ever scored by an Italian at the European Championships. The match ends with the score of 79-96, bringing Pozzecco’s team closer to qualification.
Italy got off to a shocking start, failing to find the back of the net on offense and suffering a 6-0 run from Bosnia. Pozzecco mixed things up by replacing Spagnolo with Thompson, and the Azzurri found their rhythm, led by a Simone Fontecchio in a state of graceThe Italian national team thus takes the lead and seems to have control of the match, but their opponents are not giving up. Bosnia is a tough opponent: with Nurkic under the basket and Roberson’s aim, coach Bekir’s boys remain attached to Italy. In the second quarter, Pozzecco’s team tries to extend the lead, once again pushed by Fontecchio’s baskets, but the many offensive rebounds conceded penalize the Azzurri. The teams thus went into the locker room with Italy leading 40-44, with Fontecchio scoring a remarkable 21 points.
Upon returning from the locker rooms, Bosnia once again put the Azzurri in difficulty, taking the lead with the plays of Alibegovic and Roberson. In the most difficult moment, however, Fontecchio once again took charge and Italy is starting to have excellent three-point percentages finding baskets from Spissu and Ricci. Tensions mount: the referees eject Pozzecco for a double technical, and Spissu commits a naive act by elbowing an opponent and receives an unsportsmanlike foul. The Italian national team, however, maintains control of the match, thanks in part to the direction of Darius Thompson, and closes the period with an 11-point lead.
In the final quarter, Bosnia didn’t give up again, and with a basket from Nurkic, they closed the gap to within 7 after having reached 14. Italy, however, returned to their attack, continuing to score from beyond the arc, led by the ever-present Fontecchio. The Azzurri thus definitively took the lead, with Bosnia having no more power to stay in the game.
Gallinari sv: Gallo played only two minutes, once again out of the rotation. Fortunately, the Italian attack didn’t need his baskets in this match.
Melli 6: A less impressive game than the one against Georgia. He still kept Nurkic and his teammates at bay as best he could, and wasn’t involved much in attack.
Fontecchio 9: It would be enough to say that his is the best scoring performance by an Italian player in the last 35 years. A response like this was needed, after the criticism of recent days. Now let’s hope this will give him even more confidence for the upcoming, crucial matches.
Thompson 8: This was undoubtedly his best performance for the Azzurri. He was always in control at the helm, set his teammates up for the pick-and-roll, and most importantly, had a significant impact with 14 points. Having him at this level of performance makes all the difference in the world.
Ricci 7: He brings his usual veteran personality, scoring a couple of really important baskets. He never backs down when called upon, a leader.
Spanish sv: Substituted by Pozzecco after the first three minutes of play, he doesn’t see the field again, partly due to the excellent performances of his teammates. He needs to show something more if he doesn’t want to lose playing time.
Procida ne
Niang 6: For the first time in this Eurobasket, he’s been ineffective and unable to leverage his athleticism. His absence is justified after his performances in the first two games.
Spissu 7: He’s finally back to a more than positive performance level. He struggled a lot in the first half of the match, especially defensively, but we know that if he gets into shooting mode, his effectiveness on the court changes completely. And so it happens, and he finishes with 14 points.
Diouf 6.5: He continues his streak of excellent performances under the basket. It’s obviously not easy to battle Nurkic, but that doesn’t faze him, and he challenges him on both ends of the court several times, even managing to win a few duels.
Akele sv: he enters for only 34 seconds, time to commit a foul.
Pajola 6.5: Even on a more difficult night in terms of scoring, his effectiveness on the pitch was unquestionable. It’s no coincidence that he finished the match as the Azzurri’s top assist provider.
Well 5: The score was impacted by the expulsion, which left the team without a coach for practically two quarters. The second coach hired was too naive and risked penalizing the Azzurri. Fortunately, that didn’t happen, but the blunder remains.